First flown in 1942, the American Douglas A-26 Invader (from 1948, the B-26, although the designation A-26 was also in use again from 1965) was a twin-engined light attack bomber aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Co. during World War II and seeing service during the Cold War`s major conflicts. A limited number of highly modified aircraft served in combat until 1969. The last B-26 was retired from service in 1972 by the National Guard Bureau and donated to the National Air and Space Museum.

The A-26 was originally built in two different configurations: the A-26B had a solid nose, which normally housed six or eight .50 caliber machine guns, while the A-26C’s glass nose contained a Norden bombsight and was used for medium altitude precision bombing. Some aircraft were armed with additional guns in their wings, giving some configurations as many as fourteen .50 caliber machine guns fixed forward.

Invaders first saw action with the Fifth Air Force in the Southwest Pacific theater on 23 June 1944, when they bombed Japanese-held islands near Manokwari. They began arriving in Europe in September 1944 for assignment to the Ninth Air Force, and entered combat two months later on 19 November.

Invaders carried out the first USAF bombing mission of the Korean War on 29 June 1950 when they bombed an airfield outside of Pyongyang. Invaders were credited with the destruction of 38,500 vehicles, 406 locomotives, 3,700 railway trucks, and seven enemy aircraft on the ground. On 14 September 1951, Captain John S. Walmsley Jr attacked a supply train. When his guns jammed he illuminated the target with his searchlight to enable his wingmen to destroy the target. Walmsley was shot down and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Invaders carried out the last USAF bombing mission of the war 24 minutes before the cease fire was signed on 27 June 1953.

During the early phase of the Vietnam War, the US Air Force used standard B-26s, but with Vietnamese markings. These aircraft were withdrawn from service in 1964 after two accidents related to wing spar fatigue. The On Mark Engineering Company of Van Nuys, California was selected by the Air Force to extensively upgrade the Invader for a counterinsurgency role. On Mark converted 40 Invaders to the new B-26K Counter Invader standard, which included upgraded engines, re-manufactured wings and wing tip fuel tanks for use by the 1st Air Commando Group. In May 1966, the B-26K was re-designated A-26A for political reasons and deployed in Thailand to help disrupt supplies moving along the Ho Chi Minh trail.

In April 1961, B-26s provided from US military stocks were flown by Cuban exiles during the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. CIA mercenary pilots that may have been the same Cuban exiles flew them against "Simba" rebels in the former Belgian Congo who were supported by Cubans, the Communist Chinese and the Soviets. The Portuguese Air Force acquired Invaders for use in Angola. Biafra used two provisionally armed B-26s in combat during Nigerian Civil War in 1967.

.: Product Features :.

The product contains three versions of the aircraft (in one Vue VOB file), one with the undercarriage lowered, and one with the undercarriage retracted and the blade blurs for the propellers added, and one in the flight position with the bomb doors open, to allow a "dropping of bombs" scenario. Load the model and delete the ones you do not want to use in your scene.

A detailed and textured model. Contains materials for retexturing. The model is UV mapped and textured, and uses diffuse, specular and bump maps.

Arado AR 234 (for Vue)

The Arado Ar 234 Blitz (Lightning) was the world`s first operational jet powered bomber, built by the Arado company in the closing stages of World War II. In the field it was used almost entirely in the reconnaissance role, but in its few uses as a bomber it proved to be nearly impossible to intercept.

In order to reduce the weight of the aircraft and maximize the internal fuel Arado deleted the typical integrated landing gear and the aircraft was to take off from a wheeled trolley and land on retractable skids. Arado estimated a maximum speed of 780 km/h at 6,000 m (485 mph at 19,685 ft), an operating altitude of 11,000 m (36,090 ft) and a range of 1,995 km (1,240 miles).

.: Product Features :.

The product contains two versions of the aircraft, one with the undercarriage out for ground scenes, and one with the undercarriage retracted for flying scenes.

The bomb can be animated to drop.

A detailed and textured model. Contains materials for retexturing. The model is UV mapped and textured.

B-17G Flying Fortress (for Vue)

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Competing against Douglas and Martin for a contract to build 200 bombers, the Boeing entry outperformed both the other competitors and more than met the Air Corps` expectations. Although Boeing lost the contract due to the prototype`s crash, the Air Corps was so impressed with Boeing`s design that they ordered 13 B-17s. The B-17 Flying Fortress went on to enter full-scale production and was considered the first truly mass-produced large aircraft, eventually evolving through numerous design advancements.

The B-17 was primarily employed by the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) in the daylight precision strategic bombing campaign of World War II against German industrial, civilian and military targets. The United States Eighth Air Force based in England and the Fifteenth Air Force based in Italy complemented the RAF Bomber Command`s nighttime area bombing in Operation Pointblank, to help secure air superiority over the cities, factories and battlefields of Western Europe in preparation for Operation Overlord. The B-17 also participated, to a lesser extent, in the War in the Pacific, where it conducted raids against Japanese shipping.

From its pre-war inception, the USAAC (later USAAF) touted the aircraft as a strategic weapon; it was a potent, high-flying, long-ranging bomber capable of unleashing great destruction, able to defend itself, and having the ability to return home despite extensive battle damage. It quickly took on mythic proportions. Stories and photos of B-17s surviving battle damage widely circulated, increasing its iconic status. Despite an inferior range and bombload compared to the more numerous B-24 Liberator, a survey of Eighth Air Force crews showed a much higher rate of satisfaction in the B-17. With a service ceiling greater than any of its Allied contemporaries, the B-17 established itself as a superb weapons system, dropping more bombs than any other U.S. aircraft in World War II. Of the 1.5 million tonnes of bombs dropped on Germany by U.S. aircraft, 640,000 were dropped from B-17s.

The product contains two versions of the B17 aircraft, one with the undercarriage lowered, and one with the undercarriage retracted and the blade blurs for the propellers added. Load the model and delete the one you do not want to use in your scene.A detailed and textured model. Contains materials for retexturing. The model is UV mapped and textured.

Handley Page Halifax BIII (for Vue)

The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engine heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing. The Halifax was also operated by squadrons of the Royal Australian Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force, Royal New Zealand Air Force and Polish Air Force.

Total Halifax production was 6,176 with the last aircraft delivered in November 1946. In addition to Handley Page, Halifaxes were built by English Electric, Fairey Aviation, Rootes Motors (Rootes Securities Ltd.) and the London Aircraft Production Group. Peak production resulted in one Halifax being completed every hour.

The Halifax entered service with No. 35 Squadron RAF at RAF Linton-on-Ouse in November 1940 and its first operational raid was against Le Havre on the night of 11-12 March 1941.

In service with RAF Bomber Command, Halifaxes flew 82,773 operations, dropped 224,207 tons of bombs and lost 1,833 aircraft.[3] In addition to bombing missions, the Halifax served as a glider tug, electronic warfare aircraft for No. 100 Group RAF and special operations such as parachuting agents and arms into occupied Europe. Halifaxes were also operated by RAF Coastal Command for anti submarine warfare, reconnaissance and meteorological roles.

Postwar, Halifaxes remained in service with the RAF Coastal Command and RAF Transport Command and the Armée de l`Air until early 1952. The Pakistan Air Force which inherited the planes from the RAF continued to use the type until 1961.

There are only two fully restored Halifax bombers in the world. One is a composite aircraft located at the Yorkshire Air Museum, on the site of the Second World War airfield, RAF Elvington.

The other Halifax, NA337 of No. 644 Squadron RAF at Tarrant Rushton, was retrieved from the bottom of Lake Mjøsa in Norway in 1995 after being shot down in April 1945. It was brought back to Canada and restoration was completed in 2005. NA337 is a Halifax A Mk VII Special Duties aircraft built by Rootes Motors, Liverpool and resides at RCAF Memorial Museum at CFB Trenton in Trenton, Ontario, near Kingston, Ontario.

A third Halifax, the Mk II Serial Number W 1048, which was recovered from Lake Hoklingen in Norway where it crashed after being damaged in an attack on the German battleship Tirpitz, was recovered by a "sub aqua" team from the RAF in 1973. It is displayed in its "as recovered" condition in the Bomber Command display at the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon in London, apart from the nose turret which had already been restored prior to the decision.

On 26 November 2006, archaeologists from the Warsaw Uprising Museum, Poland, unearthed remains of another Halifax (JP276 "A") from No. 148 RAF Squadron, which was found in southern Poland, near the city of Dabrowa Tarnowska. It was shot down on the night 4-5 August 1944 while returning from the "air-drop-action" during the Warsaw Uprising.

.: Product Features :.

The product contains two versions of the aircraft, one with the undercarraige lowered, and one with the undercarraige retracted and the blade blurs for the propellors added. Load the model and delete the one you do not want to use in your scene..

A detailed and textured model. Contains materials for retexturing. The model is UV mapped and textured.

Beautiful....just a beautiful piece of art. These planes brought beauty to the skies of the Allied forces....and terror to our enemies. Thank you for making such a beautiful craft available for digital art.